Kangaroos slip as AFL ladder gets shake-up

North Melbourne have slipped out of the top eight after a tight loss to Essendon in one of the best matches of a high-quality AFL round that gave the ladder a shake-up.

The Kangaroos dropped from eighth to ninth after the 12th-ranked Bombers scored a thrilling 19.11 (125) to 16.12 (108) win at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

North would have improved to sixth with a win but instead find themselves amid seven teams from sixth to 12th that are separated by just six premiership points.

"There will be a sense of missed opportunity with our players and coaches," coach Brad Scott said.

"But you play 22 games in the home-and-away season and you've just got to accumulate as many wins as you can.

"I've said for a number of years that just getting results to go your way and falling into the finals ... it's great to play finals footy but you want to be a team that feels like you belong when you qualify."

Melbourne's mid-season lull continued on Sunday when they slipped to a third-straight loss, this time to St Kilda at the MCG.

The Saints held on for a 18.11 (119) to 18.9 (117) win - just their third victory of the season.

Brisbane took a step away from the wooden spoon with a shock 55-point thumping of Fremantle at Optus Stadium.

Dockers ruckman Aaron Sandilands was a late withdrawal after straining his calf in the warm-up, while skipper Nat Fyfe injured his right hamstring midway through the second term of the 18.11 (119) to 9.10 (64) loss.

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon says he's unsure about the severity of the injuries.